Date Released: Jul 19, 2011

Bitrate: Variable

Contributor

07.21.11

Prurient, Bermuda Drain

2011 | Label: Hydra Head Records / Redeye

Hospital Productions founder Dominick Fernow (aka Prurient) is so prolific that some of his records have naturally gone awry. But while his latest effort is noisy, it’s no abstract experiment. Fernow’s most eclectic recording to date, Bermuda Drain manipulates the listener so effectively that it’s impossible to acclimatize or escape. From the first harrowing caw of album opener “Many Jewels Surround the Crown,” it’s clear that Fernow isn’t here to toy with your emotions; he… read more »

Contributor

07.21.11

Prurient, Bermuda Drain

2011 | Label: Hydra Head Records / Redeye

Hospital Productions founder Dominick Fernow (aka Prurient) is so prolific that some of his records have naturally gone awry. But while his latest effort is noisy, it’s no abstract experiment. Fernow’s most eclectic recording to date, Bermuda Drain manipulates the listener so effectively that it’s impossible to acclimatize or escape. From the first harrowing caw of album opener “Many Jewels Surround the Crown,” it’s clear that Fernow isn’t here to toy with your emotions; he wants to stretch them to their very end.

Couched in sound collages, spoken word and strange, haunting synth lines, Bermuda Drains offers extremes on all ends. At times, Fernow’s sparse electronic atmospheres and steady intonations are so staid it’s as if you’re blinking in and out of consciousness. Other times, sometimes within the space of a single song, violence erupts unexpectedly. The stark electronic atmosphere of the title track initially washes like warm water, until the calm is shattered by a series of terrifying tones. On songs like “Let’s Make a Slave,” cracked keys and effects are so judiciously employed that they take on an almost ancient ambience — call it anarcho harpsichord music for an unholy age. At other times, the words are inescapable: The lyrics to “Palm Tree Corpse” (“If I could, I would take a tree branch, and ram it inside you”) are especially unsettling.

No escape; no easy way out. Long after it’s over, the buzzing, static whips are still leaving marks worthy of any messiah.

SCREAMING

eMusic Features

"One of the defining traits of many Hydra Head releases would be the marriage between the ugly and the beautiful, the dissonant and the melodic," says former ISIS frontman Aaron Turner, a co-founder of the label alongside Mark Thompson. "This kind of synthesis is apparent through many of our artists regardless of genre, perhaps at times in spite of it."
In other words, there's more to Hydra Head than a battering ram blend of molten melodies,… more »

Everyone in the entire world is in Austin this week, guys. But that doesn't mean that you and I can't still hang out! We'll grab some records, have a beer or a soda or something, eat some cheese puffs; just unwind, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, you do. It's probably hot and messy down there with all that incredible live music anyway. Let's do this!
The Decemberists, We All Raise Our Voices To The Air… more »